Ball holding and ball release mechanism



' July 9, i946. LEDELMAN BALL HOLDING ANID'BALLI'RELEASE MECHANISM FiledJune 25, 1945 MrVV///////////////////////// ///2 N N w H /NVENTO;I

- atoms? Patented July 9, 1946 BALL HOLDING AND BALL RELEASE MECHANISMIsadore Edelman, Detroit, Mich.

Application June 25, 1945, Serial No. 601,477

1 Claim.

This application relates to a ball holding and release mechanism forgames or the like. Such a mechanism holds balls from rolling down atrack, and may be operated by the insertion of a coin into a coinreceiver so that the mechanism moves to release the balls which arethereupon free to roll down the track.

The unitary ball holding and release mechanism of my invention isillustrated in the appended drawing. In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a front view of the mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view; and

Fig. 3 is a left end view.

The drawing shows a cabinet wall A having a tunnel or track B, whosewall C has an opening D, normally closed by a closure panel I.Diagrammatically shown at 2 is a ball, which may roll in the track inthe direction of the arrow shown. Projecting rearwardly from the panelis a bracket 3 upon which is mounted an electromagnet 4 whose feed wires5 are connected to a coin controlled switch and an electric currentsource, not shown, arranged so that upon the deposit of a coin, theswitch is closed momentarily so that the electromagnet 4 is energizedmomentarily.

The magnet has a plunger I 0 connected by a wire II to a holding bar I2which normally forms a stop for the ball holding gate I3, holding theball gate in the position shown, wherein it blocks the movement of theballs in the direction of the arrow. A stop screw I4 limits the movementof the gate in the direction opposite the arrow shown. A tension springI5 having one end secured to the panel and the other end secured to arod I6 fastened to the holding bar I2 normally pulls the rod I6 and thebar I2 forwardly on the hinge I I which mounts the holding bar I2 and itis the tension of this spring that is overcome by the electromagnet 4.When the magnet is energized momentarily, it pulls the bar I2 rearwardlyon hinge I! and the bar releases the gate I3 which thereupon movesrearwardly on its hinge I8 to permit the balls to roll past the gate andthe holding bar in the direction of the arrows shown. Since the closingof the switch for the magnet is momentary, as soon as the balls havemoved beyond the gate and the holding bar, these are returned to thepositions shown by the spring I5.

The panel is provided with several openings I 9 permitting the rod I6,the wire II, and the end 20 of the bar I2 to pass through the panel fromthe front or track side thereof to the rear or magnet side thereof. Theend 20 of the holding bar is formed as shown to provide a stop for thebar I2 under the tension of the sprin I5.

It will be observed that in a cabinet or other construction having anopening adapted to be closed by the closure panel I, the electromagnetportion of the mechanism herein disclosed will be within the closedcabinet and the only exposed portion will be the gat I3 and the holdingbar I2.

It will also be observed that the unitary mechanism herein disclosed canbe inserted into a cabinet and mounted on a portion thereof as a unitmerely by using mounting screws 2I for mounting the closure panel I inits place on the opening of the cabinet adjacent to the track alongwhich roll the balls.

The unitary mechanism may be fabricated and preassembled so that themechanism as a unit may be mounted in place, by unskilled workers whoneed only to mount the closure panel by its mounting screws and toconnect the feed wires on the magnet to the electrical circuit, whichoperates that magnet.

Similarly, replacement of a mechanism by another, for repair purposes,is a very simple matter, removal requiring only the disconnecting of thewires 5 and'the removal of the mounting screws for the panel I.

Now having described the unitary ball holding and release mechanismherein disclosed, reference should be had to the claim which follows.

I claim:

A unitary ball holding and release mechanism comprising a panel adaptedto be mounted adjacent a ban track, an electromagnet mounted on one sideof said panel, a ball holding gate hingedly mounted on the other side ofsaid panel, a gate holding bar hingedly mounted on the gate side of thepanel and having a stop portion passing through said panel to engage themagnet side of the panel, a plunger passing through the panel to connectthe magnet to the gateholding bar, a rod secured to the bar and passingthrough the panel to a point near the magnet, and a spring secured tothe magnet side of the panel and to the rod at a point near the magnetfor normally biasing the bar into gate holdin position, said springbeing arranged to be overcome upon energization of the magnet whichmoves the bar out of gate holding position, and a stop for limitingmovement of the gate from the ball release position past the ballholding position under bias of the spring, aid panel having clearanceopenings for the stop portion of the bar, for the plunger, and for therod. ISADORE EDELMAN.

